Owww... my liver

If you'll notice below, Mojave 3 is back on heavy rotation.  Only one week until the show!     :)

So yesterday's tasting was very nice.  They had a gnocchi station and a blue cheese-stuffed mini-burger station and lots of cheese and tray-passed hors d'oeuvres and chicken caesar lettuce cups and... oh, you wanted to hear about the alcohol?

How about 25 and 50-year old cognac?  Or some very tasty tequila?  Or one of the newer ultra-premium vodkas (and they were nice enough to provide blue cheese-stuffed olives with that)?  Or some local San Francisco favorites?

Lots of liquor there.  Lots.

Lots, I tell you.  A whole separate room from the...

Wine.  Lots of wine.  Anyone who's been to Moscone West can tell you that it's a large, open, airy space.  Which is nice when you're elbow-jockeying with a bunch of people to get some really nice champagne (the Fleur, as a matter of fact, was the champagne we were drinking when I proposed to Brandy).

To cut down on the sheer, overwhelming volume of it all, I'll just give you some recommendations:

Acme Wine Marketing reps some very nice producers.  Per Bacco consistently makes excellent Chardonnay and Pinot - and one of my favorite domestic Pinot Grigios.  McDowell Valley Vineyards is making very interesting and tasty Rhone varietal wines in Mendocino and their very own McDowell Valley AVA.  And Howell Mountain Vineyards is Howell Mountain Vineyards.  Keep an eye out for their second label, HMV, for more affordable options.

Babich makes some really nice Kiwi wines (New Zealand, not wine made from actual kiwis).  The Unoaked Chardonnay is a nice change of pace from the "California style."

Ever since Greg La Follette took over winemaking duties at DeLoach, the wines have been a little harder to find and quicker to sell out.  I completely understand.  I, too, am a member of the Cult La Follette.  Super-nice guy, too.  Most of you should be able to find DeLoach wine, maybe even at your local supermarket.  Go for the appellation (Russian River Valley) or single vineyard stuff or O.F.S. and you can't go wrong.  And remember, the man works wonders with Pinot Noir.

If you haven't started drinking South African wine yet, well then, "Big Smile!  Big Smile!"*  Can't go wrong with Mulderbosch.  The Beyond Sauvignon Blanc was very nice.  Some very nice Cab / Cab blends from Rustenberg and their second label, Brampton.  Nice up-and-coming (still) wine region blending elements of the New and Old Worlds.

From Down Under, d'Arenberg makes a nice range of consistent wines.  Obviously, the pricier bottlings get the better fruit, but everything is at least drinkable, if not downright tasty.

And some of my favorite wines from the tasting:  Basserman Jordan Trocken (dry) Riesling, Schloss Wallhausen Riesling Kabinett, P.J. Valckenberg Riesling Kabinett "Vinolok" (Glass stoppers! Woo hoo!), Maximin Grünhäuser M-S-R Riesling Spätlese, J.J. Prüm Riesling Auslese, and of course, Madonna Eiswein (Icewine) [and no, it has nothing to do with that Madonna].

Bottoms up.

 

* = As much as I personally think Mel is an ass, Lethal Weapon 2 was pretty funny.  "Eeeny... meeny... miny...... hey, Moe!"